McGreevy Model 2

[stamper]

In some random wanderings last month, I came across the name of Donal McGreevy. He's a builder in Northern Ireland. I liked what I heard in a couple of video clips and then discovered that one of his guitars was for sale at The North American Guitar (formerly Cotten Music) in Nashville. Kim is one of my best friends, so I had her send it to me.

I have owned and/or still own instruments by some great builders -- Matsuda, Borges, Olson, Ryan, Blazer & Henkes -- and I put this McGreevy in the same class. The model I have is his Model 2, which is the first smaller-bodied guitar he had ever built. It is roughly 00-sized and has a 25-inch scale. The woods are mahogany and cedar, with internal sides made of rosewood.

I've never been one to obsess over the minutiae of guitar builds, so that's where I'll leave it. Suffice to say that the playability is second to none and it sounds just like I want a guitar that will stay in Celtic tunings to sound. If you're able to find one of Donal's guitars, I highly recommend that you give it a whirl.

I've linked a quick recording and a few pics below.

[UKPhil]

That is one beautiful guitar Mike.

[dcn]

Nice playing - love the clean phrasing and woody reverb. Beautiful guitar, too, congratulations.

[stamper]

Originally Posted by UKPhil

That is one beautiful guitar Mike.

Thanks Phil. I've substantially turned the guitar tables over the last several years but have settled on a few that are very good (and very different).

[stamper]

Duplicate message.

[stamper]

Originally Posted by dcn

Nice playing - love the clean phrasing and woody reverb. Beautiful guitar, too, congratulations.

Thanks. There's no processing at all other than about 8% wet mix on the reverb (no EQ / compression / whatever else).

[Dustinfurlow]

This song and guitar pairing are just wonderful. I've played 3 of Donal's guitars and they all left me super inspired. Timing never worked with ordering but I see it happening in the future. Pretty much perfect guitars across the board, are far as I could assess.

[stamper]

Here's another recording with the McGreevy.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by stamper

Here's another recording with the McGreevy.

Beautifully played! You have a wonderful sense of phrasing & dynamics! Clearly the guitar suits you!

What is that longitudinal piece inside above the label/center strip?

Best regards,
Howard Emerson

[stamper]

Thanks Howard. I guess it's just a part of the bracing. I had never paid any attention to it until you mentioned it. The piece doesn't go all the way to the neck block, though. Interesting. Maybe that's just part of the magic.

I learned and recorded Crossing Crystal Lake several years ago. It is one of my favorites. I need to revisit it with this guitar.

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

What is that longitudinal piece inside above the label/center strip?

Best regards,
Howard Emerson

Howard,
The first time I saw another builder use that brace it was on Jeff Traugot’s guitars. When I asked Jeff about the brace he said he used it to maintain the arch on the back of his guitars. I told Jeff that I had used a similar brace a few times but for a different reason, to tie all the back braces together so they acted in unison. It would be interesting to see what inspired Donal to use a similar brace. Non the less Stamper congrats on a very fine looking and sounding guitar.

[stamper]

I asked Donal about it and here is what he said (pics attached as well):

---------------

The centre brace is Jeff Traugott's floating back brace design. Many builders use this now or some variation of it and I have used it on this guitar with Jeff's permission. It was originally designed as a structural solution to stop a ladder braced back from flattening over time. This can cause the neck block to rotate and result in a guitar requiring a neck reset.

I'm also trying it as a voicing technique. I like the idea of something holding the 15' radius in a longitudinal direction which allows me to thickness the back and carve the braces a bit lighter - ultimately getting the back to move in a slightly different way. I'm not sure if I would use it on a Rosewood back or a back that is already very stiff along the grain, but it was perfect for this piece of Mahogany.

You can see in the attached photos that it is notched into the ladder braces but doesn't actually touch the back. It's Sitka Spruce like the rest of the back bracing but I have capped it with a Koa veneer mostly for aesthetic purposes.